Sustaineo has developed a proprietary Deep Eutectic Solvent platform that selectively recovers critical metals, composites and polymers from end-of-life electronics, photovoltaics and wind infrastructure - without smelting, without acid, and without a single litre of liquid discharge.
The same technologies driving decarbonisation - solar PV, wind turbines, EVs - are generating enormous volumes of complex waste streams saturated with critical minerals. Conventional recycling is destroying that value and creating secondary pollution in the process.
Printed circuit boards carry gold at 10–100× primary ore concentration. Yet pyrometallurgical smelters recover fewer than half the contained metals while releasing dioxins, PBDE volatiles and SO₂. Conventional acid leaching consumes tonnes of HNO₃ per tonne of PCB and generates toxic effluent with no scalable treatment pathway. The chemistry is broken.
First-generation crystalline silicon panels are now entering end-of-life. Silver busbars, copper conductors, silicon wafers and EVA encapsulant are chemically bonded together. Current mechanical recycling recovers only glass and the aluminium frame - the critical metal value is destroyed. Silver alone represents a multi-billion-dollar recovery opportunity in the decommissioning wave through 2035.
Thermoset glass fibre reinforced polymer blades cannot be mechanically recycled and are uneconomical to incinerate. Rare earth permanent magnets (NdFeB, DyFe) in direct-drive generators are landfilled at decommissioning - an irreversible loss of strategic materials that cannot be substituted. The circular economy has no answer for wind waste. Yet.
Conventional pyrometallurgical and acid-hydrometallurgical routes were designed for primary ore concentrates, not complex multi-material waste streams. They destroy non-metallic value, generate secondary hazardous waste and cannot meet the circularity standards demanded by EPR, the EU Battery Regulation or CSRD supply chain disclosure. A fundamentally different chemistry is required - one that is selective, ambient-temperature, closed-loop and scalable from bench to industrial plant.
Incoming waste streams are sampled and characterised by XRF and ICP-OES for metal loading and speciation. Material is then size-classified via mechanical shredding and eddy-current separation to isolate target metal-bearing fractions from bulk plastics and ferrous components. Feed grade validation determines DES formulation selection.
Multi-stream CompatibleProprietary Deep Eutectic Solvent formulations - non-aqueous, biodegradable, low-viscosity mixtures of a hydrogen bond acceptor and hydrogen bond donor - are applied at 60–80 °C. The tunable solvent polarity achieves selective dissolution of target metal species (Au–Cl complexes, Ag⁺, Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺, Co²⁺, REE-complexes) while leaving the non-metallic matrix structurally intact for downstream valorisation.
Proprietary DESTarget metals are electrodeposited from the DES-metal complex solution at controlled cathodic potential, producing refined cathode deposits at >99–99.9% purity. Sequential potential stepping enables recovery of multiple metal species from a single extraction liquor - Au first, then Ag, Cu and base metals - dramatically reducing process steps versus conventional multi-stage hydrometallurgy.
>99.9% PurityPost-extraction DES is stripped of residual metal species via vacuum distillation and electrochemical polishing, then returned directly to the extraction reactor. The regeneration circuit operates as a closed mass balance: solvent inventory is maintained at design composition with zero DES discharge to effluent. Chemical procurement cost converges to near-zero over extended operational periods.
100% Solvent LoopDelayered non-metallic fractions - glass fibre reinforcement mats, EVA polymer sheets, brominated FR resins - undergo proprietary halogen immobilisation and polymer separation protocols, converting them from waste liabilities into secondary raw materials. Integrated effluent treatment closes the water loop with zero liquid discharge to drain or CETP. Full compliance pathway with E-Waste Rules 2022 and HWM Rules.
ZLD ArchitectureEliminates smelting at 1200–1600 °C - removing dioxin and furan emissions, PBDE volatilisation from brominated flame retardants, and SO₂/NOₓ stack pollution. Process energy intensity is estimated 60–70% lower than primary smelting routes.
❌ Smelting eliminatedReplaces HNO₃, aqua regia and cyanide leach routes with REACH-compliant DES chemistry. Eliminates the acid mine drainage analogue - the secondary contamination that makes conventional e-waste recycling ecologically counterproductive and regulatorily fragile.
❌ Acid routes eliminatedDES form when a hydrogen bond acceptor (quaternary ammonium salt) is mixed with a hydrogen bond donor (polyol, carboxylic acid or metal salt) in defined stoichiometry. The eutectic mixture exhibits a drastically depressed melting point and tunable solvent polarity - delivering metal selectivity ratios unachievable with aqueous or ionic liquid systems.
Proprietary IPThe first platform to systematically co-recover glass fibre reinforcements, EVA encapsulant, engineering-grade thermoplastics and brominated resins alongside target metals. Non-metallics represent 60–80% of PCB mass and up to 90% of wind blade mass - destroying this fraction destroys the majority of feedstock value.
Industry FirstBrominated flame retardants (BFRs) in FR-4 PCB substrates are the primary toxicological hazard in e-waste processing. Our patented immobilisation step converts volatile organic bromine to stable inorganic bromide salts before polymer processing - preventing dioxin formation at any downstream thermal step and enabling safe polymer reuse.
Patented ProcessBuilt-in life cycle inventory tracking monitors carbon intensity (kg CO₂e / kg metal recovered), water footprint (L / kg), solvent consumption (kg / t feed) and material circularity index (% feedstock as saleable product). Outputs are formatted for GRI, CSRD, EU Battery Regulation and EPR regulatory submission.
CSRD AlignedSustaineo is the first platform to close the complete feedstock mass balance - recovering critical metals at exchange-grade purity alongside valorised composites and polymers. No fraction goes to waste.
Each waste stream has a unique material chemistry requiring a tailored solvometallurgical flowsheet. Sustaineo has developed dedicated process routes for all three - deployable independently or as an integrated hub.
Four interlocking proprietary advantages create a durable barrier that commodity recyclers, conventional hydrometallurgists and primary miners cannot replicate.
Our solvent formulations are the product of systematic lab synthesis, selectivity testing and ICP-OES characterisation across 40+ candidate DES systems. The final formulations achieve metal selectivity ratios not available in the published literature - and are the subject of ongoing provisional patent applications in India and internationally.
🔐 Defensible IPZero Liquid Discharge is not an end-of-pipe treatment add-on at Sustaineo - it is a structural feature of the process mass balance. Solvent regeneration and water recovery share the same distillation circuit, eliminating redundant capital, reducing OPEX and ensuring that ZLD compliance is inherent, not fragile. This integration is a key IP claim.
🏆 Structural AdvantageConventional recyclers recover metals and write off non-metallics to landfill. Sustaineo recovers both. This doubles the addressable revenue per tonne of feedstock and eliminates landfill gate fees - a structural economics advantage at every scale. No other commercial platform has demonstrated this simultaneously for PCBs, PV modules and wind blades.
🥇 Industry FirstAll 12 Principles of Green Chemistry are addressed at the process design stage, not retrofitted for regulatory compliance. Ambient operating temperatures, biodegradable solvents, zero hazardous reagents and inherently clean mass balances mean our regulatory alignment is structural - not a compliance cost that erodes with tightening regulation.
✅ REACH, RoHS, EPR AlignedSynthesis, characterisation, extraction chemistry, electrochemical recovery, solvent regeneration and non-metallic valorisation - the entire technology stack is developed and owned in-house. No critical IP dependencies on third-party licensors. Our development roadmap is self-determined and our competitive position does not erode with platform maturation.
📡 No IP DependenciesEvery process parameter - metal yield, carbon intensity, water balance, solvent consumption, non-metallic recovery - is logged per batch and formatted for GRI, CSRD, EU Battery Regulation and EPR compliance submission. OEM partners receive a complete audit trail for supply chain disclosure without additional documentation burden.
🌐 CSRD, EPR, EU Battery RegEnd-to-end e-waste take-back with critical metal recovery at exchange-grade purity. OEMs receive EPR compliance documentation, LCA data for CSRD reporting and audit-ready chain-of-custody records. PCB recyclers gain a high-recovery back-end that replaces acid leaching and eliminates CETP dependency.
Learn more →End-of-life c-Si PV module processing with full material recovery - Ag, Cu, Si, Al, glass and EVA. IPPs and utility-scale solar owners facing decommissioning liability can convert panels from a disposal cost into a revenue stream, while satisfying EPR obligations under emerging PV waste regulations in India and the EU.
Learn more →Decommissioned blade processing, REE recovery from NdFeB permanent magnet assemblies and glass fibre composite valorisation. Wind operators facing the end-of-first-generation-fleet problem - with no credible recycling pathway today - are the core constituency for our wind waste flowsheet. We are building the solution the industry needs.
Learn more →EV battery pack end-of-life processing - Co, Ni, Li, Mn recovery at battery-grade specifications for closed-loop re-manufacture. Critical metal supply chain security through domestic recycling reduces geopolitical import risk. Closed-loop manufacturing partnerships help OEMs meet EU Battery Regulation recycled-content mandates entering force from 2027.
Learn more →Transformer winding recovery - high-purity copper and aluminium extraction from insulated cable and winding wire, with insulating oil and polymer separator valorisation. Sustaineo's ZLD process eliminates the hazardous effluent problem that prevents most recyclers from handling transformer oil-contaminated feedstocks.
Learn more →Hub-and-spoke processing partnerships - Sustaineo operates as the high-value recovery back-end for PRO collection networks. PROs gain access to a certified, auditable, ZLD-compliant processing facility that delivers genuine material recovery data for regulatory reporting - replacing the current practice of informal processing that destroys material value and regulatory credibility.
Learn more →Our technology development follows a rigorous TRL framework - from fundamental DES chemistry and selectivity optimisation at bench scale through to pilot validation and commercial plant commissioning. Every phase de-risks the next.
Systematic DES formulation screening across 40+ candidate systems. Selectivity characterisation by ICP-OES. Mass balance closure at 10–100 g feed scale. Halogen immobilisation and non-metallic fraction protocols established. Core IP claims filed.
Continuous flow reactor design for DES extraction at 1–10 kg/hr feed rate. Electrochemical recovery cell engineering for cathode product quality. ZLD integration commissioning. Real feedstock trials across all three waste streams with industrial partners.
Modular pilot facility at 100–500 kg/day throughput capacity. Full ZLD certification. Independent third-party metal purity verification for LME, LBMA and battery-grade qualification. CPCB compliance documentation package for commercial operations.
Full-scale hub facility deployment in partnership with OEMs, PROs or anchor off-takers. Technology licensing programme for international replication. JV co-investment models with waste aggregators and EPR PROs. IP licensing revenue independent of capital deployment.
License our proprietary DES solvometallurgical flowsheets and ZLD architecture to industrial partners globally - enabling rapid deployment of recovery capacity without full greenfield engineering. Royalty-based model aligned with recovered metal tonnage and partner OPEX savings.
💡 IP CommercialisationCo-develop hub-and-spoke recovery facilities with OEMs, utilities and waste aggregators under shared investment and revenue models. Sustaineo contributes proprietary technology, process engineering and regulatory documentation. Partners contribute feedstock, infrastructure and market access.
🤝 Co-InvestmentOpen research partnerships with IIT, NIT, CSIR and international universities to advance DES selectivity science, composite polymer valorisation and circular economy process engineering. DSIR and DBT grant-eligible collaboration structures available for academic partners.
🎓 Academic & DSIR/DBTEvery performance claim is tracked per batch, independently verifiable and formatted for GRI, CSRD, EPR and EU Battery Regulation submission. We report what we can measure and measure what matters.
Whether you are an OEM with EPR obligations, an investor seeking deep-tech exposure to the critical minerals transition, a waste aggregator looking for a high-value processing back-end, or a research institution advancing green chemistry - we want to hear from you.